Old UNO Hockey Threads

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 4:47 am

Twiztid1 wrote:The NU reference for UNL has gotta be stopped. There are 2 other schools in the system, with UNO being a step ahead of UNL in many areas.

I don't believe you will have much luck with that. Its certainly no secret that UNO excels in areas where UNL does not, and vice versa. But with UNL being the flagship campus and center of all non-medical research for the conglomerate University of Nebraska, not to mention the most nationally visible thanks to the Huskers, losing the NU label is not going to change. Enjoy the distinction of being UNO - sometimes its not always advantageous to be lumped together.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 5:03 pm

I wonder how big of a draw a CU UNO bball game would be. To be honest I haven't heard that much about UNO bball since Danny Nee left.

Finn · Post by **Finn** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 6:20 pm

Danny Nee was at UNL not UNO. The CU-UNL annual game is a huge draw.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 9:08 pm

Last year at the Qwest the NU/CU game drew 15,561 (CU won 61-54

) - the largest crowd of the year.
The previous year at the Devaney they drew 12,338 (CU won 81-73

) 2nd largest crowd to the KU/NU game. Capacity: 13,500

SychoBC · Post by **SychoBC** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 12:51 am

I'll be headed back to Lincoln just as I did in 02 to root on the Jays!

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 11:39 pm

DTO Luv wrote:I wonder how big of a draw a CU UNO bball game would be. To be honest I haven't heard that much about UNO bball since Danny Nee left.

BIG OOPS!! I thought Danny Nee was UNO's coach.

OmahaMan25 · Post by **OmahaMan25** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 5:23 pm

Actually, from a Creighton fans oppinon looking at a Husker coach, I thought Danny Nee did great at Nebraska. I mean they did go to the NCAA tourney several times under him. Now, under Barry Collier, they have really only been to the NIT.

projectman · Post by **projectman** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 5:32 pm

NU obviously needs to recruit better in order to compete in the Big 12. Don't know why it's so hard other than NU has never been a basketball power and doesn't have the tradition. Too bad.

OhioStreetKid · Post by **OhioStreetKid** » Sat Oct 16, 2004 9:10 pm

Lack of local talent, and if they are any good Kansas, Iowa St., & Mizzou will be all over them like white on rice.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sat Oct 23, 2004 4:47 pm

Already half of last seasons wins... in the first 3 games!

Omaha World Herald wrote: Offensive-minded Mavs open CCHA with solid victory

After three straight victories to open the season, there should be little debate as to how much of an impact Mike Kemp's freshman class will have on the CCHA this year.

Seven Mavs scored, including four freshmen, as UNO laid a 7-3 thumping on Western Michigan in its Central Collegiate Hockey Association opener at Qwest Center Omaha.

UNO, which plays WMU again tonight at 7, rolled to a 4-0 lead, gave up three power-play goals in the second, but pulled away in the third to move to 3-0 overall.

For Kemp, along with everyone else that took a ride on last year's misery tour, winning sure beats losing right now.

"We've got nine kids in this lineup that didn't go through what we went through last season," Kemp said. "They don't know the difference. We've got young kids who are playing poised . . . and some of the goals we scored in the third period, they were tic-tac-toe goals."

Kemp went back to the Merrimack game two weeks ago when the University of Nebraska at Omaha built up a big lead and let it slip away - only to recover and finish the deal.

"That game was exactly like tonight," said Kemp. "It taught us a lesson. So when it went to 4-3 tonight, there was confidence, not panic."
Click To Enlarge
Western Michigan defenseman Jonathan Lupa, No. 6, holds up Mav winger Bill Thomas during Friday night's CCHA game at the Qwest Center.

Perhaps Kemp's biggest surprise was getting three goals from his fourth line - made up entirely of freshmen. Left wing Brandon Scero, center Bryan Marshall and right winger David Phillips all played a part in UNO's offense, but Scero and Marshall scored 10 minutes apart in the third period to turn a slim 4-3 lead into a 6-3 cushion.

And while the Mavs displayed scoring depth perhaps never seen in these parts, they also got strong goaltending from sophomore Chris Holt. He faced only two shots in the first period, but had 36 thrown his way during the final 40 minutes. He was named the game's first star.

Freshman Bill Bagron gave the 4,531 fans on hand a preview of what the night would be like just 1:36 into the game. With his team skating short-handed, Bagron picked up a neutral-zone turnover, sped in 2 on 1 with Marshall and fired a short-side bullet that stunned Bronco goalie Daniel Bellissimo.

Scott Parse, skating with freshman Bill Thomas on his right side and sophomore Micah Sanford on the left, made it 2-0 just 1:01 later. Parse was trying to control a bouncing puck as he circled the net behind Bellissimo, wheeled to the front and lifted a backhander that beat the goalie to the short side again.

Four minutes later, sophomore defenseman Dan Knapp made it 3-0 when he one-timed a pass from Parse from 25 feet out. Again, Bellissimo was beaten to the glove side, and he was done for the night after facing only five shots.

When Phillips scored his first collegiate goal 2:04 into the second period, it looked like the rout was on. But Western Michigan got back into the game after it earned four power-play opportunities and cashed in on three of them.

Vince Bellissimo, Daniel's older brother, scored two straight on Holt only four minutes apart, both coming on rebounds. And Mike Erickson made it 4-3 with 6:22 left in the second when he tapped in Paul Szczechura's crease pass.

UNO, however, regrouped in the third. Scero got his first career goal on a nice pass from Phillips, and Marshall made it 5-3 after Scero made a nice play to keep the puck from leaving the zone.

Dan Hacker and Mike Lefley teamed up on the final goal, finishing off a 2 on 1 with 58 seconds left.

Western Michigan (1-2).........................0 3 0-3
At UNO (3-0, 1-0).........................3 1 3-7
• First period-UNO, Bagron (sh) (unassisted), 1:36; UNO, Parse (Thomas), 2:37; UNO, Knapp (Parse, Sanford), 6:17.
• Second period-UNO, Phillips (pp) (Sanford, Nikiforuk), 2:04; WM, Bellissimo (pp), (Erickson, Walton), 2:52; WM, Bellissimo (pp) (Mahrle, Dwyer), 6:19; WM, Erickson (pp) (Szczechura, Walton), 13:38.
• Third period-UNO, Scero (Phillips, Marshall), 5:09; UNO, Marshall (Phillips, Scero), 15:28; UNO, Hacker (Lefley), 19:02.
• Shots on goal: WM 2-18-18-38; UNO 11-7-12-30.
• Power-play opportunities: WM 3-9, UNO 1-9.
• Penalty minutes: WM 23, UNO 26.
• Goalies: WM, D. Bellissimo (5 shots, 2 saves, 6:17), Marvin (25 shots, 21 saves, 53:43. UNO, Holt (38 shots, 35 saves, 60:00).
• Atten.: 4,531.

SychoBC · Post by **SychoBC** » Sat Oct 23, 2004 6:08 pm

Western Michigan isn't exactly Michigan or Minnesota, in fact they are probably in the bottom 15 of the league.

Kristi · Post by **Kristi** » Sun Oct 24, 2004 8:21 pm

Go MAVS!

We have season tickets and are thrilled at how they have played thus far. We always have a great time and Friday my girls got to sit rink side in some empty seats. I must say, last year the score got to be depressing... but ohhh, the atmosphere!!!

SychoBC · Post by **SychoBC** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 1:14 am

http://www.insidecollegehockey.com/5Pol ... s_0304.htm

The 3 teams we've beaten are all in the bottom 20.

I know they are playing better, but I want to see them against the great teams before I get excited. They did win 8 games last year, but more than half than win total is a good sign.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 1:37 am

Yes, UNO went 8-26-5 last years, but started 0-5-1.
This is a young team, look at the Perani points so far.
In two CCHA games Kaleb Betts (So) and Chris Holt (So) have the 1*
and Scott Parse (So) and David Phillips (Fr) have the 2*.
I don't know if UNO will win 20 this year, but 16 is within possibility.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sun Oct 31, 2004 2:08 am

Wow! The Mav's come back after losing to Michigan State... to split the series with a 5-2 win at their place! (this is Sycho's cue to come in and point out that MSU isn't playing well this year

)

I am excited about this team!

Post by **Brad** » Sun Oct 31, 2004 2:50 am

I think that the mavs will do great this year. I saw the game last saturday and they looked great. They already have as many wins this year as they did all of last year.

Go Mavs

P.S. go early if you don't have a ticket, or buy online. Last weekend weekend we waited 40 mins for a walk up ticket @ 6:30. However we still had great seats.

SychoBC · Post by **SychoBC** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 12:20 am

They are showing they are definatly going to be good for years down the road, this team looks suprisingly good this year.

I'm just glad there is some hockey on tv. I love CSTV and FSN North.

Post by **Brad** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 11:58 pm

The Mavs are on tv? Is there a website I can find a tv schedule?

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 6:00 am

The 5-1 Mavs are now ranked 15 in the USCHO/CSTV poll and 20 in the USAToday poll!

They are in the midst of an 8 game road schedule in Mich, AK, and Mass.
I don't know how far in advance they program TV games but keep an eye on:
http://www.uscho.com/news/tvsked.php

SychoBC · Post by **SychoBC** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 8:28 pm

College Hockey is shown only on CSTV and FSN North and Rocky Mountain, none of which is available over Cox or Qwest, DirecTV or Dish Network(minus CSTV) only.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sat Nov 13, 2004 6:50 am

Omaha World Herald wrote: UNO overpowers Bowling Green

Two power play goals, two even strength goals and only two goals allowed Friday night meant the University of Nebraska at Omaha was too much for Bowling Green State.

The Mavericks scored on the game's first shot on goal and never trailed in a 4-2 victory before 5,846 fans at the Qwest Center. UNO, now 5-0 at home, is 6-3 overall and 4-3 in the CCHA.

The list of players earning compliments from Coach Mike Kemp was a long one.

Sophomore forward Alex Nikiforuk was the game's No. 1 star with the first two-goal game of his career and his first goals of the season. He hammered home a power play goal for a 2-0 lead in the first, then added a back-hander early in the third for a 4-1 lead.

"He's been around the net and around the puck, but nothing has bounced his way," Kemp said. "Tonight, when he got that first one, the net was looking pretty big to him."

Nikiforuk was far from the only star.

Sophomore goaltender Chris Holt had 21 saves, including two sparklers early in the first period, as he outdueled All-CCHA goaltender Jordan Sigalet of Bowling Green.

"Chris again was real steady," Kemp said. "You didn't see him scramble around to make saves. He always was on the puck and in line to make the stop.

"That's a real sign of a goaltender playing 'in the zone.' "

Other Mavs contributing included sophomore defenseman Dan Knapp with two assists, freshman forward Bryan Marshall with his fifth goal, freshman forward David Phillips with his third goal, freshman forward Bill Bagron with his first assist . . . well, you get the idea.

"When different guys show up, we win," Nikiforuk said. "We don't have to rely on the same guys like last year.

"It was a real character win, and that's the direction we're going this year. It's nice to be a part of something like this."

UNO had lost three of its past four games, all on the road, including two on last week's marathon trip to Alaska-Fairbanks. Bowling Green (4-2-1, 2-2-1) is off to its best start in eight years.

Yet the Mavericks showed their was no "Fairbanks hangover" by hanging a goal on Sigalet, an All-America candidate, on the game's first official shot.

On the power play, Knapp ripped a blast from the right point high and wide. The puck ricocheted off the glass near the left post to Phillips, who pumped it in just 1:54 into the game.

"We had a great week of practice - probably the best we've had all year," Nikiforuk said. "You could just tell today that all the guys were ready to go."

Holt described UNO's early goal as a "settle-down goal."

"They were playing catch-up the rest of the game," he said. "We can kind of control the play after that."

Bowling Green never got closer than one goal. The Falcons cut the lead to 2-1 late in the first period on a 5-on-3 power play.

But Marshall's second-period goal on a nifty feed from freshman forward Bill Thomas and Nikiforuk's second goal at 3:33 of the third put UNO up 4-1.

"I was real pleased with our attention to detail," Kemp said. "We did a very good job after the first period of playing both ends of the rink.

"We've had games where we haven't been attentive to the little things. But tonight we took care of our own end as well as trying to get something going in the offensive end."

• ICE CHIPS: Sophomore Scott Parse, UNO's leading scorer, limped off in the second period after blocking a shot. He returned early in the third, but still favored his left leg. . . . Sophomore Kaleb Betts, who had been on the first line, didn't dress Friday. Kemp said it was a coach's decision. Betts took a 5-minute penalty late in last Saturday's 3-2 loss to Fairbanks. . . . The crowd was a season high.

Bowling Green.........................1 0 1-2
Nebraska-Omaha.........................2 1 1-4
• First period - 1, UNO, David Phillips 3 (Dan Knapp, Scott Parse), 1:54 (pp); 2, Alex Nikiforuk 1 (Jason Krischuk, Dan Hacker), 16:54 (pp); 3, BG, Jonathan Matsumoto 4 (Ryan Minnabarriet, Don Morrison), 18:43 (pp).
• Second period - 4, UNO, Bryan Marshall 5 (Bill Thomas, Knapp), 1:50.
• Third period - 5, UNO, Nikiforuk 2 (Bill Bagron), 3:33; 6, BG, Steve Brudzewski 1 (Minnabarriet, Alex Rogosheske), 7:26.
• Shots on goal:
BG.........................11 7 5-23
UNO.........................12 15 8-35
• Power plays - BG 1-5; UNO 2-7.
• Penalties - BG 9-18; UNO 7-14.
• Goalies - BG, Jordan Sigalet 4-2-1 (35 shots, 31 saves); UNO, Chris Holt 6-3 (23 shots, 21 saves).
• Three stars - 1, Nikiforuk. 2, Knapp. 3, Holt.
• A - 5,846 announced.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 5:21 am

I'm going to tomorrows game.

UNO Hockey wrote: Mavericks Shutout Ohio State
Chris Holt Stops 39 Shots In Victory

Omaha, Neb--Goalie Chris Holt stopped 39 shots and added an assist in helping the University of Nebraska-Omaha to a 4-0 CCHA victory over seventh ranked Ohio State in front of 6,118 fans at the Qwest Center Omaha.

The Mavericks stormed out of the gate, scoring twice in the first period. Alex Nikiforuk tapped in a nifty pass from Brandon Scero to give UNO the lead with 6:07 left in the period.

Bill Thomas scored just over a minute later with assists from Holt and Scott Parse.

Holt earned his first career shutout and raised his record to 7-4.

The Mavericks added two goals in the second period from Kaleb Betts and Parse. Both goals were on the power play, as UNO finished 2-8 with a man advantage.

Tha game was marred by 150 minutes of penalties between the two teams, who will meet again Saturday night in a 7:05 game at Qwest Center Omaha.

UNO is now 7-4-0 overall and 5-4-0 in the CCHA. Ohio State fell to 9-4-0 and 7-2-0 in the CCHA.

SychoBC · Post by **SychoBC** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 7:37 am

The game tonight was awesome, both teams had all the players(minus goalies) fighting with about 2 minutes to go, causing over a 10 minute delay. To which OSU followed up by taking a time out. Us fans didn't appreciate it.

The Mavs just dominated them the entire game. Holt did a great job and had some spectacular saves. I'd go to tomorrow's game, as I have luxury box seats, but I'm working.

I will be going to the Creighton game tomorrow morning, where Ark-Pine Bluff will be destroyed.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 7:42 am

Post by **Brad** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 9:44 am

Go Mavs

I home they win tomorrow(actually later tonight) when I am there.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sun Nov 21, 2004 10:01 pm

I'm a lay person for the most part when it comes to hockey... but I've been to my share of games... and while I may not know what I'm seeing... it seems that this years Mavericks are moving the puck around WAY better than they have in the past. While they only tied last night (against the #7 team in the nation)... they could have easily won... the Mavericks looked very comfortable out there.

The announced crowd was 7,500... getting better. I recommend everyone go watch them. They'll be back in the first week of December.

projectman · Post by **projectman** » Mon Nov 22, 2004 12:10 am

I would like to go watch them but have a house full of women that are not interested. I'll have to hook up with some buddies to get some tickets.

I did take my daughters to the MVC conference soccer championship last Sunday in the new stadium. Awesome game where SMU won in the last 22 seconds. Had a great time.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 12:48 am

This weekends win and tie against OSU moves UNO back up to #16 in the polls.
Amazing enough OSU only moved down 3 spots. I take this as great respect for UNO!

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sun Jan 09, 2005 7:43 am

Omaha World Herald wrote: Mavs move up after sweep

Is this the start of something great for the UNO hockey team?

The Mavericks didn't mind pondering that question Saturday night after completing a weekend sweep of Northern Michigan with a 3-1 win and hopping past the Wildcats into third place in the 12-team CCHA.

"This was very big for our program," University of Nebraska at Omaha Coach Mike Kemp said. "We came out of a pretty dismal December . . . and this allowed us to move into third place.

"At this point in the season, I don't think anyone gave us a hope in heck to be third in the conference."

The Mavericks, who finished last in the league a year ago, drew repeated roars from the season-high crowd of 8,127 at the Qwest Center with strong play against a Northern Michigan team that swept them just a month ago.

UNO (10-9-1 overall, 8-7-1 in the league) has 17 points, one ahead of Northern Michigan (9-7-4, 7-5-2). CCHA leader Michigan entered the night with 24 points. UNO has played two more CCHA games so far than 10 other schools.

Two sophomores - goaltender Chris Holt and forward Alex Nikiforuk - led the Mavericks' charge Saturday.

Holt held NMU to one goal for the second straight night, and showed signs of playing well for long stretches instead of in bursts.

"He was as steady and solid as could be," Kemp said. "This might have been the best weekend he's had as far as back-to-back games. He was in the zone."

Nikiforuk, who had gone five games without a goal, scored the game-winner on the power play with 3:50 left in the second period. UNO forward Kaleb Betts ripped a shot that NMU goaltender Tuomas Tarkki kicked aside, but Nikiforuk swatted in the rebound for a 2-1 lead.

Nikiforuk also earned the unsung hero award with a defensive move while killing a penalty in the third period as UNO protected a one-goal lead.

Just 15 seconds into a Northern Michigan power play, Nikiforuk stole the puck at the opposing blue line, forcing a Wildcat defenseman to drag him down illegally, thus neutralizing the man advantage.

Nikiforuk said drawing the penalty meant far more to him than his goal.

"Scoring goals is great," Nikiforuk said. "But a little thing like that, they were starting to get a little momentum and it totally took them out of the game and got the crowd back into it."

Kemp said Nikiforuk's momentum-turner can become a teaching point.

"We talked in our pregame that the difference tonight would be who makes 'little plays,' " Kemp said. "Who gets it out of our end, who gets it into their end and who is a patient player.

"That was an immense turning point for us."

UNO also got a first-period goal from forward David Phillips as the reunited all-freshman line of Phillips, Bryan Marshall and Brandon Scero clicked for seven points in the two games. Senior Dan Hacker capped the scoring with an empty-netter.

Kemp said he got good vibrations from his team in the postgame locker room, even knowing the next six league games are on the road.

"The road is littered with good intentions and with pitfalls and craters," he said. "But we come out of this weekend with some enthusiasm that is refreshing, and a focus on how we need to play to continue this."

ICE CHIPS: Things were quiet on the "fish front." Last year, NMU objected to UNO's tradition of throwing a fish on the ice after its first goal - a sign for the opposing goaltender to fish the puck out of the net. Unlike last year, when a 10-minute skirmish ensued, a fish was thrown both nights without incident. . . . Scott Parse, UNO's second-leading scorer, took a knee to the left leg late in the second period. He tried to skate in the third period, then went to the locker room.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sun Jan 16, 2005 3:48 pm

A big win and tie over Ferris State on the road leaves UNO in 3rd place in the CCHA. What a difference a year makes.

Omaha World Herald wrote: This time, Mavs are warriors on road

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. - You have to dig through three seasons of results to find a more successful hockey road trip for UNO than the one completed Saturday night with a 4-1 victory over Ferris State.

The Mavericks, who tied FSU on Friday, claimed three of the series' four points to stay in third place in the 12-team CCHA.

Sixteen road trips ago - wins Dec. 6 and 7, 2002, at Lake Superior State - was the last time the University of Nebraska at Omaha scored more than two points on a weekend away from home.

"This was huge," said sophomore forward Scott Parse, who had a goal and two assists. "We had to get a win on the road here and some points just for our confidence to know we can do it."

Things didn't come easily.

In the first period, the Mavericks (11-9-2 overall, 9-7-2 CCHA) had two goals waved off and allowed Ferris State two premium short-handed chances against goaltender Chris Holt, who stopped both.

"Holter was unreal all weekend," senior assistant captain Dan Hacker said.

From there, UNO scored first, countered Ferris State's lone goal after only 25 seconds and secured the win with a dominant third period and the work of Holt, who stopped 33 of 34 shots.

"Tonight, we persevered through a tremendous amount of adversity right from the start," UNO Coach Mike Kemp said. "That showed me we're getting the kind of character we need to be successful in this league.

"We're getting a sound team effort in all areas, starting at the net. Everybody is pulling on the oars in the same direction, which for us maybe hasn't happened the last couple of years."

Before this road trip, the character issue was discussed in a players-only meeting that Hacker helped organize.

"We were more relaxed for this trip," he said, "because we decided we have to take things into our own hands."

Getting a tie Friday night on a goal with 31.8 seconds left was the critical moment of the weekend, Hacker said.

"That gave us something to build on," he said. "Then tonight, for us to fight through having those goals disallowed shows how far this team has come. Before, we might have sat back and sulked. But not now."

Early in the second period, Michigan native Parse delighted the family and friends who came to watch by taking a tip pass from Thomas, exploding behind the defense and beating goaltender Mike Brown for a 1-0 lead.

Ferris State tied it with 10:24 left in the second on a power-play goal from left winger Mark Bomersback. That broke UNO's streak of 19 straight successful penalty kills over four games.

In recent weeks, that's the kind of goal that has rattled UNO and caused a cluster of problems.

This time, the Mavericks countered in 25 seconds.

Left wing Brandon Scero got loose on a feed from center Bryan Marshall and scored his seventh goal of the season.

Any thoughts Ferris State (9-12-3, 4-9-3) had about a comeback ended 21 seconds into the third period. UNO left winger Kaleb Betts hammered home a slapshot on a feed from Parse during a power play for a 3-1 lead.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sat Jan 22, 2005 5:08 pm

Omaha World Herald wrote: Mavs finally sing on Miami's home ice

OXFORD, Ohio - If the UNO hockey team keeps playing this effectively on the road, it may never come home again.

The Mavericks, who had one road win in the season's first three months, got their second in a week Friday night by topping Miami of Ohio 5-2.

The result kept the University of Nebraska at Omaha (12-9-2, 10-7-2) in third place in the 12-team Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and the Mavs stretched their league unbeaten string to six games (5-0-1).

UNO's first victory ever in seven tries at Goggin Ice Arena wasn't as easy as the score might indicate.

Instead of whistling while they worked, the Mavericks had to work while being whistled. They played short-handed seven times in the first period-and-a-half alone, and 10 times overall.

"It seemed like we were on the kill all night," said UNO's chief penalty killer Dan Hacker, clutching an ice bag to the back of his neck.

But UNO kept chugging, even after falling behind 1-0 just 51/2 minutes into the game on a Miami 4-on-3 power play.

"It wasn't real artistic," Mavs Coach Mike Kemp said. "And it wasn't our best effort as far as Xs and Os. But getting our first win at Goggin and not giving up a 5-on-5 goal and being opportunistic, I'll take it."

Never were the Mavericks more opportunistic than in the second period.

That's when they turned the game without regard for how many skaters they had.

Just 49 seconds in, forward Bill Thomas broke a 1-1 tie on a breakaway that, in essence, ended with a short-handed goal. His shot came just as a UNO penalty expired.

Thomas drew oohs and aahs for his quick stop and backhanded move that beat Miami goaltender Brandon Crawford-West.

"It looked good, but it was an accident," Thomas said, smiling. "I tried to fake a shot and go backhand because he was so far out.

"But I hit the puck too hard on my fake. Then, in desperation, I poked at it again. I didn't know what I was doing with it. But if I didn't know, he didn't either. So it worked."

Eight minutes later, Hacker put UNO up 3-1 with the sixth short-handed goal of his career after forward Alex Nikiforuk's sweet steal and feed.

But that wasn't the goal Hacker wanted to discuss.

The key moment, he said, came after Miami scored a second power-play goal to close to 3-2 just 2:05 into the third period.

About two minutes later, UNO got a power-play chance. Forward Scott Parse deflected defenseman Joe Grimaldi's blast from the point into the net for a 4-2 lead, quieting the home crowd of 2,105.

"That's been happening a lot during this run we've been on," Hacker said. "As soon as the other team gets a goal, we come back and keep them from getting momentum."

Thomas, on an assist from Parse, scored the final goal. That gives UNO's two leading scorers a combined 10 points in the past two games after a three-game dry spell.

"Those guys had a little stretch where they weren't finishing very well," Kemp said. "But you see when they are back on track what they mean to our program."

An unbeaten January (4-0-1) after a 1-5 December doesn't mean Kemp is on cruise control on the bench.

"I'm not trying to screw them up offensively with a lot of coaching, I'll tell you that," he said. "But we need to be a better team defensively. We need to be a more thorough team, and that's where the coaching comes in."

Hal Dawg · Post by **Hal Dawg** » Sat Jan 22, 2005 6:16 pm

I don't know what the Nebraska Bears were officially drawing at their games at Benson High School, but newspaper accounts never had the attendance at more than 1,000.

The Omaha Beef, playing at the Civic Auditorium, averaged just under 6,000 fans a game in 2001, 5,226 in 2002, 4,453 in 2003 and 3,948 last season.

The Iowa Blackhawks drew a crowd of just under 2,000 playing a single home game at the Mid-America Center last May.

skinzfan23 · Post by **skinzfan23** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 9:34 pm

Get out and support the Mavs hockey team this weekend (Jan 28-29) @ the Civic against Wayne St. and then definitely against MICHIGAN (Feb 11-12) @ the Qwest Center. All games start at 7:05. Hopefully both places can be packed respectively for the 4 games. With UNO doing great this year and 10,000 at the Michigan game last year with the poor record, there should be a much better turnout this time around. GO MAVS!

Post by **Brad** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 2:17 am

Over the past weekend I went to the civic to see the Mavs. It was a great time and brought back the old memories of what a crowd should sound like. I don't want the Mavs to move back to the Civic, however I want the atmosphere of the Civic to go to QCO. Why is QCO not called the Bullpen? Why do they put the chearing section(the kids with the buckets) up in the end? Why don't people bring their mike jugs? Finally WHY THE heck does everyone show up so late? They need to have a pep ralley to teach people some of the cheers or use the technology the QCO has. For Example when the other team has a penality why don't they flash Skate, Skate, Skate on the board, now there is like a dozen fans yelling it and you can't really hear it.

Go MAVS

futrecndvlpr · Post by **futrecndvlpr** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 2:24 am

I can tell you why they put the people with the buckets up in the top of the arena, it is impossible to enjoy the game if you sit around them.

Have you ever sat with those guys? It is so loud you lose your hearing after a couple of minutes. You can barely even hear the crowd chearing over the beat of their buckets. It is horribly uncomfortable.

I used to think the same thing "bring those rabid fans in the lower bowl", then I sat with them.

I am just as big a fan as anyone else, I never miss a home game, but it is impossible to enjoy a hockey game in their presence.

Post by **Brad** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 2:37 am

Actually I have never sat next to them, but I could hear them at the Civic. Anyways my point is the QCO needs somthing to bring the fans alive, It dosn't have the bucket guys.

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 5:05 am

Anyone make it to the Michigan game tonight? (wasn't the short handed goal late in the game a magical moment?! the crowd all rising in anticipation, letting out about as loud a roar as I've heard at a Qwest Center Maverick game) It was a great game... nice sized crowd in attendance. While it was frustrating to see them come up short... one has to remember how young this Mav team is... and how many seniors the #5 ranked Wolverines have.

If you can't make it to tomorrow's game... tune in to NETV!

UNO wrote: Michigan Powers Past Mavericks, 6-4

The Michigan hockey team recorded four power play goals in a 6-4 victory over Nebraska-Omaha on Friday night at the Qwest Center.

Eric Nystrom led Michigan with two first period goals while Chad Kolarik and Andrew Ebbett each had three point nights as Michigan moved to 21-7-3 overall and 15-11-3 in the CCHA.

Both teams came out firing and combined for a total of six goals in the first period. Michigan opened up scoring at the 3:14 mark with a goal by Eric Nystrom to take a 1-0 lead. Nebraska-Omaha responded with a goal just 53 seconds later from Alex Nikiforuk to tie the score. The Wolverines regained the lead on Chad Kolarik's power play tally at 7:06 but the Mavericks stormed right back with goals from Scott Parse and Dan Hacker at 9:20 and 11:51 to take a 3-2 lead. UM's Nystrom then added his second goal of the period at 16:49 to tie the score at 3-3.

Eric Werner scored on the power play for the only goal of the second period at the 2:15 mark for a 4-3 lead.

The Mavericks battled back again to tie the score at 4-4 with 7:32 remaining in the game when Scott Parse scored on a breakaway while the Mavs were shorthanded.

The score remained tied for just over a minute until Brandon Kaleniecki gave the Wolverines the lead for good with UM's fourth power play goal of the night.

T.J. Hensick sealed the victory for Michigan with less than a minute to play on a scrum in front of the net.

UNO (15-11-3, 11-9-3) will host Michigan again on Saturday night at the Qwest Center.

Post by **Brad** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 5:38 am

I am going on Saturday, how come you can't pick your seats on the ticket master website, but you can walk right up to a ticket master retail outlet and pick your seat.

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 8:20 am

I'm really impressed that NETV is presenting it in HD. Not that I can take advantage of it, but that public television is bringing the technology is cool.